Sirius
by I.M. Elizabeth
Summary: Mello gets Layla a present in the hopes that she'll quit pestering him. Mello/OC


A/N: Hey guys, sorry I haven't been writing much, I've been much more active on Deviantart lately, but don't worry. I'll be writing more soon. Anyway, this drabble is kind of random, and probably doesn't make much since, but, I hope you enjoy it.

**Sirius **

** Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its respective characters, however I do own Layla Levandi and the writing of this story. Please do not use without my permission.**

It had been a surprise, to say the least.

Seeing Mello come home with of all things, a puppy.

Layla had never figured her man for an animal lover, really. Not that she had ever seen him be cruel to an animal either. She'd just always figured that animals, like most people, weren't of much use to him in the fight against Kira.

And now, the little velvety bundle was plopped on her lap without a word from the blond mafioso.

Almost absentmindedly, she checked around the puppy's neck. There was no ring attached to it, no bow, so she could safely assume the puppy wasn't an apology for their most recent fight. But, that had been a week ago, and she was certain, that it had been, like all the others, forgotten.

"What is this?" she said after a moment, pointing down at the animal, that looked dazed in her lap.

"A dog." Mello replied curtly, rolling his eyes and strutting to the fridge to pull out a carton of chocolate milk. He poured the milk in a glass and watched her quietly, his blue eyes as always, unreadable.

"Well, pet it...or something." he said after a moment, his voice drawling with its usual mix of annoyance and impatience.

But, the little black ball of fur merely stared at her, then let out a yawn as if it was bored by her. She hesitantly rubbed her fingers over its tiny head and quickly pulled her hand away, looking bemused.

"Have you ever been around a dog before, Kiska?" he asked.

She shook her head lightly, then reached into her pocket for a cigarette, which she lit, inhaling sharply.

"No, not really. My mother always said they were dirty."

Mello clucked his tongue in what she only assumed was annoyance and strode to her side, plucking the dog from her lap and gazing at it.

"You look just like Irina," he said mildly, cocking his head at the puppy.

"Who?" Layla snapped, unable to hold her jealousy, it was no secret to her that Mello had slept with other woman, and the thought still made a fire burn in her chest.

"My dog," he said quietly, "When I was younger. She was a gift from my father."

Now, that the fires of jealousy had been extinguished, Layla inwardly winced at the mention of Mello's father. Although he had told her the basics of his father's murder, it was never a subject either of them liked to dwell upon. From what she could assume, Mello had been incredibly close with his father, and his death had been one of the numerous reasons why he had trouble attaching emotionally to well, anything.

"Well, what kind of dog is it?" she asked, wanting to change the subject that had left both of them in tense silence.

Now, Mello jerked out of his thoughts and blinked, look back from her face, to the dog. "It's a Doberman...can't you tell?

She let out a shrug, "Not really. I'm not too familiar with dogs."

"We had a few, when I was little." Mello replied, "Anyway, someone was giving away puppies a few blocks from here."

"Oh," Layla said lamely as Mello handed the puppy back to her. As much as she hated to admit it, he was awfully cute with his big brown eyes and how he lapped eagerly at her fingers, just wanting to be loved.

Again, her fingers sought the puppy's head, and she stroked the fur gingerly.

Mello was watching her strangely now, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, as if he wanted to smile, but couldn't bring himself to do so.

He began digging through the bags he had brought home and began pouring dog food and water into bowls.

"You'll have to feed him everyday," Mello said mildly, "If I'm not here, anyway."

"I know that!" she snapped, rolling her eyes. "If I have to feed you everyday, I'll probably have to feed this thing too."

She could hear the warm teasing in his voice. "Since when have you been feeding me? If I remember correctly, you can't even bake without burning yourself."

Without warning, the puppy on her lap let out a tiny whine.

"See? He agrees." she replied, poking out her tongue at the blond man.

Now, Mello had strode over to her, scratching generously behind the animal's ears, "Perhaps," he said softly, "He's already dreading your cooking."

"So mean." Layla snorted, leaning her head back to rest on Mello's chest. His fingers trailed through her hair lazily.

But, the Estonian woman had already turned her focus to the tiny dog again, tickling underneath his chin with her fingers.

"You should name him, Mello." she said softly.

"Call him Sirius." Mello said mildly, then added, "...When I was younger, my dad named all our male dogs after stars and constellations. He said that to give your companion a name in the stars was a sign of their greatness...whatever that means..."

She blinked, then reached up her arms to pull teasingly at Mello's hair. "I like it. It's a good name."

"Great." Mello murmured, "So...now that there's a puppy to keep you company, you think you can keep from calling my cellphone every night when I'm not home?"

"Mmm, not even puppies can do that Mello."


End file.
